Page 37 - Energize September 2022

VIEWS AND OPINION

the battery to the grid. Instead, I wished and prosumagers to become more active retailers, distribution companies and grid
I could have tapped into the battery in participants in the electricity market. operators to rethink how best to serve
my Tesla that was parked in the garage. Private vs. public value of US the changing needs of their customers
When fully charged, the car’s battery holds residential battery storage operated for while balancing supply and demand on
upwards of 70 kWh of energy. My wish solar self-consumption, a recent report the network. Many observers believe
could not be fulfilled because Tesla does from the Lawrence Berkeley National that new business models will emerge to
not allow power to be pulled from the Laboratory (LBL) quantifies the value deal with the new realities of distributed
battery to power either the house (or to of using residential battery storage to generation, storage as well as the rapid
export it to the grid). Additionally, I would maximise solar self-consumption from proliferation of EVs with their massive
need to install a two-way charger rather the perspectives of both the individual batteries.
than the one-way charger I currently have solar customer and the larger power Asked to comment on the
in the garage.” system. phenomenon, which is even more
According to the LBL report, “This pronounced in Australia, Bruce
Of course, in a large network such as question is becoming increasingly Mountain, the Director of the Energy
CAISO with hundreds of thousands of relevant as states replace traditional Policy Centre at the University of
solar plus battery system, one would net metering rules with “nett billing” Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, said,
expect more diversity and hopefully structures. Nett billing allows customers “In Australia, rooftop solar capacity is
more flexibility. But as Faruqui notes, to offset their own consumption with close to 20 GW – approaching 1 kW per
on those critical days when CAISO is solar on an instantaneous or hourly person. Battery systems are growing
most desperate there may be few extra basis, receiving full retail rate credit for quickly and ‘zero upfront’ build-own-
resources to expect from the solar plus that portion of their solar generation, but operate-transfer solar plus battery
storage customers – unless: any solar generation exported to the grid bundles are proving to be a big hit.
• The customers are incentivised to is compensated at a reduced rate.” Virtual power plant functionality for
oversize their batteries specifically “This kind of asymmetric pricing behind-the-meter batteries is new – but
for such days; and/or structure incentivises solar customers offered by many retailers – and may be
• The substantial storage capacity of with battery storage to charge their an important part of the economics of
EVs are integrated into the scheme, batteries with surplus solar and discharge residential battery uptake. Australia’s
allowing them to discharge some that stored solar energy to serve load largest coal power station is scheduled
of the stored energy back to the during evening and night-time hours.” to close in three years’ time and its
grid during the critical peak hours. The significance of electricity owner has said it intends to replace
California currently has over 1 million generation from small-scale, customer- much of its production with behind-the-
EVs – more than the next ten states sited photovoltaic (PV) solar is becoming meter solar and battery capacity, with
combined – representing the biggest pronounced nearly everywhere including virtual power plant functionality. It will
distributed energy storage system in in not-so-sunny New England where it is be fascinating to see how this market
the state. already changing the hourly pattern of develops.”
metered electricity demand, especially Currently roughly one-fifth of
As Faruqui points out, for this to happen, during the [northern hemisphere] spring Australian solar homes have battery
customers with solar, batteries and – March to May. storage. A recent national survey by
EVs need to be incentivised to invest According to the Energy Information Solar Citizens found that an astonishing
in additional hardware and software Administration (EIA), small-scale solar 84% of solar homes without a battery
that allows them to become more in New England is rapidly decreasing are looking to add one in the next three
active participants in the market. We demand during the morning while years and indicated that a subsidy
are not quite there yet, and that is a increasing during the evening, especially somewhere between AUS$3000 to
pity especially given the large storage during cool but sunny spring months - 6000 would get them over the line.
capacity of the EVs – which currently call it New England’s version of the “duck Clearly there are big opportunities to
are not used to discharge during peak curve.” turn such customers into active market
demand periods. The EIA reports that solar capacity in participants.
Clearly more work needs to be done, New England has increased by 3,8 GW
especially in implementing vehicle-to- since 2016, resulting in falling electricity Acknowledgement
grid (V2G) technology as the number of demand as the sun rises, followed by This article was first published by
EVs in the network increases over time. rising demand after the sun sets. More EEnergy Informer and is republished here
The opportunities are so lucrative – and than half of New England’s 3,8 GW of PV with permission.
the penalties for inaction so dire – that capacity additions since 2016, or 2,3 GW,
it will happen, sooner or later. The “duck have been small-scale solar. Send your comments to
curve” will compel consumers, prosumers These developments are forcing rogerl@nowmedia.co.za

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